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Alexander II of Macedon

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Alexander
King of Macedon
King of Macedonia
Reign369–367 BC
PredecessorAmyntas III
SuccessorPerdiccas III
HouseArgead dynasty
FatherAmyntas III
MotherEurydice I of Macedon

Alexander II of Macedon (Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος Β', romanized: Aléxandros) was an Argead king of the ancient kingdom of Macedon in 369–367 BC, following the death of his father Amyntas III.[1][2]

Family

He was the eldest of the three sons of king Amyntas and Queen Eurydice I.[3] His brothers were Philip and Perdiccas III.[4]

Reign

Although he had already attained his majority, Alexander was very young when he ascended to the throne in 369 BC. This caused immediate problems for the new king as enemies to the dynasty resumed war. Alexander simultaneously faced an Illyrian invasion from the north-west and an attack from the east by the pretender Pausanias. Pausanias quickly captured several cities and threatened the queen mother, who was at the palace in Pella with her young sons. Alexander defeated his enemies with the help of the Athenian general Iphicrates, who had been sailing along the Macedonian coast on the way to recapture Amphipolis.

At the request of the Thessalian Aleuadae, Alexander intervened in a civil war in Thessaly. He successfully gained control of Larissa and several other cities but, betraying a promise he had made, put garrisons in them. This provoked a hostile reaction from Thebes, the leading military power in Greece at the time. The Theban general Pelopidas drove the Macedonians from Thessaly. He then neutralized Alexander by favoring the ambitions of Alexander's brother-in-law Ptolemy of Aloros, and forced Alexander to abandon his alliance with Athens in favor of Thebes. As part of this new alliance, Alexander had to hand over hostages, including his younger brother Philip.[1][5]

He would coin the name of the king's personal guard; the Pezhetairos, or the infantry companions.[3][6] The name would be retooled under Philip II as the name of his pike infantry.[7]

Alexander was assassinated during a festival at the instigation of Ptolemy. Although Alexander's brother Perdiccas III became the next king, he was under age, and Ptolemy became regent.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Smith, William (2005) [1867]. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. Vol. 1. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
  2. ^ a b Rickard, J. "Alexander II of Macedon, r.369-368/7 BC". www.historyofwar.org. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  3. ^ a b Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière (1993). Collected Studies. Adolf M. Hakkert. ISBN 9789025610500.
  4. ^ "Alexander II King of Macedonia". www.american-pictures.com. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  5. ^ Hanson, Victor Davis (2007-12-18). Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-307-42518-8.
  6. ^ Historia: Zeitschrift Für Alte Geschichte. University of California: F. Steiner. 1991.
  7. ^ Wheatley, Pat; Hannah, Robert (2009). Alexander & His Successors: Essays from the Antipodes : a Companion to Crossroads of History: the Age of Alexander; Alexander's Empire: Formulation to Decay. Regina Books. ISBN 978-1-930053-58-8.
Alexander II of Macedon
Born: Unknown Died: 368 BC
Preceded by King of Macedon
370–368 BC 		Succeeded by


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